Tivo HD Pixelation Troubleshooting

Check the ribbon cable from the motherboard to the front panel, make sure it hasn't been dislodged at either end.
Do this with the TiVo unplugged.

Click to expand...

LOL, Thats exactly what it was! I feel soo stupid, the ribbon on board was lifted way up on one side..Thanks! Thanks for all the guidance too Unitron, This is f..ing awesome! Picture looks great again even with all my draws on the usb's. I really kinda wanted to do the soldering myself and almost bought the $50.00 kit at RS today but was apprehensive on possibly screwing it up I never really did any soldering let alone fine detailed work as this.

LOL, Thats exactly what it was! I feel soo stupid, the ribbon on board was lifted way up on one side..Thanks! Thanks for all the guidance too Unitron, This is f..ing awesome! Picture looks great again even with all my draws on the usb's. I really kinda wanted to do the soldering myself and almost bought the $50.00 kit at RS today but was apprehensive on possibly screwing it up I never really did any soldering let alone fine detailed work as this.

Click to expand...

It's probably one of the simplest and easiest soldering jobs (except for the TiVo power supplies in the S2s where the heat sink bends over at the top and makes it harder to maneuver the caps underneath), but the important thing is you once again have TiVo.

It's probably one of the simplest and easiest soldering jobs (except for the TiVo power supplies in the S2s where the heat sink bends over at the top and makes it harder to maneuver the caps underneath), but the important thing is you once again have TiVo.

Click to expand...

Exactly Wow, how I've come to depend on dvr-ing and having 2 tuners. just an update, all is working perfectly!!

I've had some pixelation issues and what not and finally got most of them either fixed using an attenuator and replacing cables. Now I still get pixelation in some channels can I put 2 attenuators together to see if that would improve it? or am I just wasting my time?

I've had some pixelation issues and what not and finally got most of them either fixed using an attenuator and replacing cables. Now I still get pixelation in some channels can I put 2 attenuators together to see if that would improve it? or am I just wasting my time?

Click to expand...

You can cascade attenuators but you need to know whether signal strength is really your problem. While tuned to a pixelating channel, got to DVR Diagnostics and see what the SNR, Signal Strength and RS Error counts are for that channel.

I've had some pixelation issues and what not and finally got most of them either fixed using an attenuator and replacing cables. Now I still get pixelation in some channels can I put 2 attenuators together to see if that would improve it? or am I just wasting my time?

Click to expand...

Well...after spending a whole 15.00 for top-quality Panasonic caps from digi-key, then another 50.00 for local install and having it work flawlessly(Thanks to this thread), I'd say you're wasting your time.

My situation-
Started off with just analogue cable for about a week-- no macro-blocking on analogue channels or QAM, occasional very minor macro-blocking on menus
Two SA cable cards (s-stream) installed- still no macro-blocking on analogue channels, but now random macro-blocking on hi-def and digital channels, brief, but every 3-10 min, on every hd and digital channel.
I'm not a expert, but according to my cable tech, I have "excellent" signal strength (he checked it with some kind of meter, both outside, and at the line going into the Tivo box...
I can also confirm the Tivo shows 100% signal on all channels...
I don't know if this info will help the experts on the forum narrow down the cause, but I thought it was worth posting my experience--
I would hope a fix or official announcement from Tivo would happen soon, as everyone seems to be getting different answers from Tivo customer service... I tend to believe Megazone, as he has stated on his blog and in these forums:
"do note that TiVo is aware of them and is working on additional updates to correct them."

Click to expand...

I see from your other post you are using old TiVo software. Get that updated before doing anything else. There are many possible causes for macro-blocking and you are not likely to get much help from either Tivo or cable co support.

It could be a failing hard drive. You have an expander drive so it could be either drive or the expander case electronics or the SATA cable connection. Start by reseating or replacing that cable.

Tivo's will macro-block if the signal is too strong. Since all your channels are at 100 you may have this issue. They may be a lot more than 100. Insert an inline attenuator or additional splitter to decrease the signal.

My situation-
Started off with just analogue cable for about a week-- no macro-blocking on analogue channels or QAM, occasional very minor macro-blocking on menus
Two SA cable cards (s-stream) installed- still no macro-blocking on analogue channels, but now random macro-blocking on hi-def and digital channels, brief, but every 3-10 min, on every hd and digital channel.
I'm not a expert, but according to my cable tech, I have "excellent" signal strength (he checked it with some kind of meter, both outside, and at the line going into the Tivo box...
I can also confirm the Tivo shows 100% signal on all channels...
I don't know if this info will help the experts on the forum narrow down the cause, but I thought it was worth posting my experience--
I would hope a fix or official announcement from Tivo would happen soon, as everyone seems to be getting different answers from Tivo customer service... I tend to believe Megazone, as he has stated on his blog and in these forums:
"do note that TiVo is aware of them and is working on additional updates to correct them."

Click to expand...

Macroblocking on a TiVo menu is very unlikely to have anything to do with your RF signal level or the cablecards. I would expect that kind of effect to be relative to HDCP compatibility between the display and the TiVo.

Macroblocking on a TiVo menu is very unlikely to have anything to do with your RF signal level or the cablecards. I would expect that kind of effect to be relative to HDCP compatibility between the display and the TiVo.

Click to expand...

But he said he had macro-blocking on "hi-def" and "digital" channels, every 3 to 10 mins.

I can't imagine how he could still be running 8.2 or 9.2 software, as he stated in another thread,http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=10081122#post10081122
but seems like that should be corrected before worrying about any other issue. Software that old must not have the fix for the sdv switching glitch that **you** were instrumental in getting Tivo to fix (and thanks again!).

But he said he had macro-blocking on "hi-def" and "digital" channels, every 3 to 10 mins.

I can't imagine how he could still be running 8.2 or 9.2 software, as he stated in another thread,http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=10081122#post10081122
but seems like that should be corrected before worrying about any other issue. Software that old must not have the fix for the sdv switching glitch that **you** were instrumental in getting Tivo to fix (and thanks again!).

Click to expand...

He also said... 'no macro-blocking on analogue channels or QAM, occasional very minor macro-blocking on menus'. This is what led to my comment.

Agree... not sure how he could be on software that old and that certainly needs fixed.

The best way to prove signal issues is to watch live until you see macroblocking and then check DVR Diags RS uncorrected counts (of course check counts when you start the experiment)... assuming the TiVo is on current software. This is the acid test.

Goodness, not sure if this is answered in 54 pages of forum posts, but I think what I have going on *might* be different.

When tuned to SD channels, no difficulties at all. This includes digital channels. No RS errors, etc.

When tuned to HD channels, the picture pixelates and stutters after a second or two. The sound also stutters. A few more seconds and the TiVo pretty much comes to a halt. I can get the TiVo to become responsive again by removing the cable input. Reattaching the cable input will provoke the issue again (unless I tune to an SD station while the cable is disconnected).

I tried changing the output to native vs. 1080i fixed without resolution.
I tried changing the output from HDMI to component without resolution.

When tuned to the HD channels, I do get a number of RS errors (I'm assuming that RS corrected and RS uncorrected refer to errors).

Playback of previously recorded HD material is fine - no problems.

TiVo software is 11.0m.

Best guess that I have is that the TiVo is having difficulty recording the HD signal. Signal strength from the cable card is between 86 and 90, and SNR 34. I have not made any changes to the configuration in months, so hard to understand why this is now occuring where the DVR had been symptom free for months.

Issue with the signal? The hard drive? A software update I wasn't aware of?

A couple of years ago I did have a similar problem and temporarily mothballed the TiVo and upgraded to Premier units. I brought the Series 3 back into service for a guest room and it has been working fine for about a year until now.

Goodness, not sure if this is answered in 54 pages of forum posts, but I think what I have going on *might* be different.

When tuned to SD channels, no difficulties at all. This includes digital channels. No RS errors, etc.

When tuned to HD channels, the picture pixelates and stutters after a second or two. The sound also stutters. A few more seconds and the TiVo pretty much comes to a halt. I can get the TiVo to become responsive again by removing the cable input. Reattaching the cable input will provoke the issue again (unless I tune to an SD station while the cable is disconnected).

I tried changing the output to native vs. 1080i fixed without resolution.
I tried changing the output from HDMI to component without resolution.

When tuned to the HD channels, I do get a number of RS errors (I'm assuming that RS corrected and RS uncorrected refer to errors).

Playback of previously recorded HD material is fine - no problems.

TiVo software is 11.0m.

Best guess that I have is that the TiVo is having difficulty recording the HD signal. Signal strength from the cable card is between 86 and 90, and SNR 34. I have not made any changes to the configuration in months, so hard to understand why this is now occuring where the DVR had been symptom free for months.

Issue with the signal? The hard drive? A software update I wasn't aware of?

A couple of years ago I did have a similar problem and temporarily mothballed the TiVo and upgraded to Premier units. I brought the Series 3 back into service for a guest room and it has been working fine for about a year until now.

Any help appreciated!

Steve

Click to expand...

Somewhere around here I read something sometime back about clearing something up by temporarily disconnecting the cable.

Yeah, real helpful, I know.

But, maybe you should check that the cable is still properly grounded where it enters the house, and since it is a Series 3, check the power supply's DC output voltages with a voltmeter. Once they start to sag, you can get all sorts of strange symptoms.

Good news is simple soldering job and $10 worth of replacement capacitors will probably straighten that out if that's the source of the trouble.

I am getting pixelation on a few channels with Fios and a cable card on my Series 3 HD.
This TV is the primary TV and is fed from a line going in to the house and a splitter.

The problem started two weeks ago and is getting worse. On some channels, the signal goes from 0 to 56 and is not steady. The SNR is hovering around 31. I changed cables, but the problem remains.

Also, my Roamio in another room is fed from the same splitter, but it is getting excellent signal with no pixelation. My conclusion is that the Series 3 HD Tivo has a defective power supply. Is this correct? Can I replace the whole supply or should I just replace the capacitors?

I was having horrible, unwatchable pixelation on all my HD and SD channels that started getting worse over the course of the week. I called time warner assuming it was a poor signal kind of problem. The tech came out to check the line and said the signal was fine and it must be my HD XL. In turn, I bought signal amplifiers and attenuators, because I'm stubborn and didn't believe what the tech told me. I thought it had to be the signal. I tried swapping/upgrading the hard drives, which I was planning on doing anyway.

In the end, it turned out to be the power supply. I swapped it with an old one from a dead HD XL unit and no more pixelation. Crystal clear.